


memory of something long gone

by unknxwn



Series: an angel and a devil (or something like that) [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknxwn/pseuds/unknxwn
Summary: the world has been a week without it's best defender. murals are everywhere. his funeral has been held.steve knocks on pepper's door one day with a surprise that a certain little miss slightly ruins





	memory of something long gone

pepper stared as the arc reactor drifted out into the lake. morgan clung to her mother, not completely sure what was going on but sort of knowing her daddy wasn't coming back.

pepper felt a hand on her shoulder. "go. i'll take morgan" rhodey whispered. pepper stood up and hugged her husband's best friend, her best friend.

"don't let her forget him." pepper whispered, her eyes watering.

rhodey nodded. pepper turned and sprinted. she didn't know where she was going, she didn't care where she was going. tears fell without meaning to.

she stopped at the place where her and tony often stargazed.

_his arm around her shoulder. the genuine smiles on both of their faces. her hand, gripping his waist. the glances at the wedding rings. the laughter when he told a stupid joke. the sincerity in his voice when he told her he loved her. the softness of his curls when she ran a hand through them. the gentle kiss he placed on her lips. the beating of his heart when she fell asleep sitting in his lap. him, so alive, so real..._

pepper teared up again, remembering the stargazing. a memory of something long gone. she pulled out her phone and stared at the wallpaper. the wallpaper of her and tony, laughing in each others arms, her and tony, happy.

she fell back against a tree and sobbed. huge, wracking sobs that shook her whole body. the ever strong ceo, broken, broken beyond repair.

_what would tony think _she thought. but then remembered. he told her that crying isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of being so strong for too long. that was the first time her strong demeanour came down infront of him.

he was her life. he'd taken up a massive portion of it. and then gone. stripped of the life he always talked about, always wanted. leaving behind a wife and a daughter. pepper knew the minute they started dating that she would never date anyone else.

it was nearly dark by the time pepper mustered the strength to go back to the house. she knew she had to be there for her daughter. _i just don't know how i can..._

pepper sighed, closing her eyes and walkin indoors. morgan ran up to her with a shriek of "mommy."

pepper nearly broke down then. "morgan" she choked out.

"mommy... when will daddy come home?" an innocent question, a slap in the face. pepper slapped her hand over her mouth, trying so hard not to break down infront of her daughter.

"he's not coming home. he's gone. to a better place. he saved us, one last time..." pepper whispered.

_ **and though you're dead and gone believe me, your weary widow marches on. ** _ _i have to. march on. battle scars and all. a gaping hole in my heart. a warmth from beside me, gone._

morgan looked up at pepper, looking smug. those chocolate brown eyes. the shit eating grin. a spitting image of tony.

"uncle rhodey and uncle happy let me eat three juice pops and three cheesebugers." morgan giggled. pepper bent down and picked her up.

_"tony. look at me. we're gonna be okay. you can rest now." my last words to my husband and it wasn't something like i love you. it was just acceptance that he won't live._ _ those bright eyes. those ever-shining, ever-burning eyes became dull. the arc reactor flickered out. his hand fell to his side. his head rolled._ _ he took his last breath. he died._

pepper carried morgan up to bed. she tucked her in and placed a quick kiss to her forehead. she backed out of her daughter's room and ran into her own.

_it's too big. too empty. too cold._

**a week later**

steve knocked on the door of the stark's house. he knew that he would be the last person pepper wanted to see. he was expecting a slap, a yelling at, not pepper collapsing into him, sobbing.

"i miss him steve. so much." she sobbed.

"me too, pepper... me too..." he replied softly. steve glanced over to the lake and nodded slightly.

tony, alive, strolled out. it would have been perfect, if a young morgan stark hadn't ran out. she paused, before shrieking "daddy!"

pepper perked up, frowning at morgan's outburst. she looked up and sure enough, tony was walking towards her, with morgan in his arms alive.

"i'm not dreaming am i?" she sniffed. steve shook his head.

"when i took the stones back, the soul stine brought him back. a soul for a soul. nat couldn't be brought back, so i chose tony. he knows all about you and morgan. he knows about his sacrifice. it's the same tony, pepper, trust me. i checked." 

pepper pulled away from steve and ran to tony. he put morgan down and held his arms out. pepper ran into him, sobbing.

"it's you, it's really you." she sobbed.

"yeah, pep, it's me."

she held onto him tight.

"morgoona, go to uncle steve. him, uncle rhodey and uncle happy will take you into the city. your mommy and i need some time."

morgan ran off and told her three uncles. soon after, they left.

"how?" pepper asked.

"to obtain the soul stone, it's a soul fir a soul. lose the one you love. well to return it, the same thing applies. a soul for a soul. i spoke to the wizard. he told me that of the 14,000,605 timelines he saw, we loved each other in every single one. he said that- that if there wasn't a way to return me, he would have pulled me from ones that we lost in. pep there was only one way. one timeline that we win. 14,000,604 that we lose." tony explained.

"you know how you died, right?" pepper asked. tony nodded.

"it was bad. we were losing. thanos, him and his army were powerful. yes, we had the masters of the mystic arts and those wakandan warriors and the avengers and the gaurdians of the galaxy. thanos was gonna wipe out the whole universe. he got the stones. i got in a hand to hand fight with him and managed to re-arrange the nanites of my suit to house the stones. i got them and snapped, wiping out thanos and his army. at the cost of my life. the stones inflicted incurable damage on me. nat sacrificed herself to get the stone in the first place"

pepper nodded. "yeah. nat dying hit hard." she frowned. "why couldn't nat be brought back." 

tony looked down and nodded. "for the soul stone, one has to sacrifice themself. according to the floating red mean guy, one who was sacrificed can't be brought back."

tony stopped and then whispered "whatever it takes. i told cap, i told him i had to keep what i found without dying."

pepper looked at tony, trying her hardest not to try. "i can't help but see the moment i saw the fire that burnt so bright burn out. i guess a fire that burns bright isn't meant to last..." a tear rolled down pepper's cheek at the last sentance.

tony leant in and kissed her. pepper sniffed and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.

"don't leave me again" pepper whispered into his neck.

"i won't" he promised.


End file.
